Former Vice President Al Gore describes how Corporate Social Responsibility is essential to Environmental Sustainability, as he shares his insights in the View from the Top series at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In this audio lecture, Gore addresses leadership and climate crisis solutions, providing data on population fertility management and the effects of current technology. Gore details how hyper-inequality is threatening to both Capitalism and Democracy, before suggesting alternatives for Sustainable Capitalism.

Researchers find a stronger tie between money and happiness for people paid by the hour than by salary, because hourly workers are more regularly reminded of the value of their time, according to work co-authored by business school Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer.

John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods Market chain, has loftier goals than getting Americans to eat healthy foods, one of the missions of his grocery empire. He is out to change American business as well, putting it on the path to higher consciousness.

In order to control rising costs of drug developments, pharmeceutical companies may have to begin looking overseas, where a strong emphasis on life science research is held. In addition, drug companies must begin to look to devote more of their R&D budgets to treating more common diseases. Victoria Hale, founder, CEO, and chairwoman of OneWorld Health, has created a nonprofit pharmaceutical company to address the needs of 90 percent of the world's people, many who do not receive treatment for preventable diseases because of the high costs of medicine.

It is not easy for an organization to merge the business acumen of the corporate sector with the conscience of nonprofits. Panelists discuss learning how to balance their double bottom lines of profits and social goals.

In their efforts to be socially responsible, most companies fail to wield their most powerful tool: lobbying. Yet corporations such as Mary Kay, Royal Dutch Shell, and General Motors are increasingly leveraging their deep pockets, government contacts, and persuasive powers for the cause of good. Not all kinds of socially responsible lobbying are created equal, however. The authors discuss which forms are best for companies and society. —By Kyle Peterson & Marc Pfitzer

Consumers say they want to buy ecologically friendly products and reduce their impact on the environment. But when they get to the cash register, their Earth-minded sentiments die on the vine. Although individual quirks underlie some of this hypocrisy, businesses can do a lot more to help would-be green consumers turn their talk into walk. —By Sheila Bonini & Jeremy Oppenheim

Social entrepreneurship requires conscious leadership, says Whole Foods CEO John Mackey in this University podcast. Delivering a talk sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, Mackey issues a clarion call for nothing less than "conscious capitalism," arguing that business can indeed serve more than the almighty dollar. He discusses his own company's challenges in the social enterprise arena.

Nonprofit management faces one of its biggest challenges in the arena of disaster relief. In this audio interview, Neal Denton, senior VP of government relations and strategic partnerships at the American Red Cross discusses the value of his organization's relationship to the Partnership for Disaster Response. He discusses plans for strengthening this relationship and the role of the private sector in disaster response.

Companies can indeed make money while operating in socially responsible and environmentally friendly ways. It just takes what supply chain expert Hau Lee calls the Triple-A approach--having agility, adaptability, and alignment. Closing the Stanford 2008 Responsible Supply Chains Conference, Lee describes how small to mid-sized companies in China, India, and Israel boosted profits while shrinking waste and pollution and providing a fair workplace for employees.

The Gap monitors 2,000 garment factories in 50 countries and conducts about 4,000 inspections annually to make sure its suppliers are operating under ethical guidelines. Dan Henkle, the executive who oversees this inspection process, as well as the company's community investment and environmental affairs efforts, outlines The Gap's corporate responsibility programs in this audio lecture recorded at the 2008 Responsible Supply Chains Conference.

Scientists predict that we have less than 10 years to sufficiently reduce carbon emissions to avert a total environmental disaster. Gary Hirshberg, Stonyfield Farm "CE-Yo", tells of his company's efforts over the past 25 years to reduce its environmental footprint while increasing profits. Hirshberg shares lessons from his book Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World, in this Stanford Center for Social Innovation audio lecture.

A key to assessing and expanding a company's corporate social responsibility agenda is developing appropriate reporting mechanisms both inside and outside the firm. Panelists from The Coca-Cola Co., United Technologies Corp., McDonald's Corporation, and KPMG share best practices.

The nonprofit sector delivers social value and the for-profit sector delivers economic value, right? Wrong! Jed Emerson argues that value is nondivisible, whole, and blended. He invites us to think beyond philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, social enterprise, and other limiting mindsets.

Changing the status quo in major organizations may seem overwhelming. Debra Meyerson offers strategies to effect change from within through tempered radicalism, drawing on research findings and bottom-up approaches.

Can businesses deliver strong returns to shareholders while also promoting the health of people and the planet? Gary Hirshberg, the phenomenally successful pioneer of the organic foods industry, utters a resounding yes.

In their nonprofit management strategy, the American Red Cross recognizes businesses as key players in emergency preparedness and disaster relief efforts. In this audio interview, host Karl Matzke speaks with Joe Becker, the senior vice president of disaster services at the American Red Cross, who discusses how the national organization leverages the support of the business community to provide assistance beyond in-kind and financial resources, which is an approach applied by many in nonprofit management.

Social entrepreneurship requires conscious leadership, says Whole Foods CEO John Mackey in this University podcast. Delivering a talk sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, Mackey issues a clarion call for nothing less than "conscious capitalism," arguing that business can indeed serve more than the almighty dollar. He discusses his own company's challenges in the social enterprise arena.

Nonprofit management faces one of its biggest challenges in the arena of disaster relief. In this audio interview, Neal Denton, senior VP of government relations and strategic partnerships at the American Red Cross discusses the value of his organization's relationship to the Partnership for Disaster Response. He discusses plans for strengthening this relationship and the role of the private sector in disaster response.

Companies can indeed make money while operating in socially responsible and environmentally friendly ways. It just takes what supply chain expert Hau Lee calls the Triple-A approach--having agility, adaptability, and alignment. Closing the Stanford 2008 Responsible Supply Chains Conference, Lee describes how small to mid-sized companies in China, India, and Israel boosted profits while shrinking waste and pollution and providing a fair workplace for employees.

The Gap monitors 2,000 garment factories in 50 countries and conducts about 4,000 inspections annually to make sure its suppliers are operating under ethical guidelines. Dan Henkle, the executive who oversees this inspection process, as well as the company's community investment and environmental affairs efforts, outlines The Gap's corporate responsibility programs in this audio lecture recorded at the 2008 Responsible Supply Chains Conference.

This case presents two fictional vignettes dealing with issues in labor law. In one, a company president must deal with a threat from her labor force to unionize; in the other, she must handle a situation in which one of her top salespeople is having an affair with a key customer.

After successful litigation against tobacco companies, lawyers turned their attention to the fast-food industry and its possible connection to obesity. The case details McDonald’s response to the litigation.

Genzyme Tissue Repair had just received favorable phase I clinical trial results. Should the company go ahead with studies that would involve subjects in the placebo group having to undergo surgery but not receive the experimental transplants?

In 1999, Geron Corporation was at the center of the debate about human embryo research. The case details the controversy surrounding Geron’s stem cell research and the role the Ethics Advisory Board played in shaping the company's response.

Although most of the research and public pressure concerning sustainability has been focused on the effects of business and organizational activity on the physical environment, companies and their management practices profoundly affect the human and social environment as well. This article briefly reviews the literature on the direct and indirect effects of organizations and their decisions about people on human health and mortality.

Organization members overestimate the degree to which others share their views on ethical matters. That is, a high level of "betweenness centrality" increases an individual's estimates of agreement with others on ethical issues beyond what is warranted by any actual increase in agreement.

Self-regulation is the private provision of public goods and private redistribution. This paper examines the scope of self-regulation motivated by altruistic
moral preferences that are reciprocal and stronger the closer are
citizens in a socioeconomic distance.

Establishments in better managed firms are significantly less energy intensive. Better managed firms are also significantly more productive. These results suggest that management practices that are associated with improved productivity are also linked to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

This course uses novels and plays as a basis for examining the moral and spiritual aspects of business leadership and of the business environment. The literature covered illuminates the character of business people and the cultural contexts of values and beliefs in which commercial activities take place in a global economy.

Understanding the processes of power and influence in organizations is critical for leaders. This course aims to teach students how to to diagnose and analyze power and politics in organizational situations, show students how to exercise power effectively, and help students come to terms with the inherent dilemmas and choices involved in developing and exercising influence.

This course examines the concept of principled leadership and the various ways leaders try to institutionalize values within their organizations. Through assigned readings, interactive lectures with visiting executives, and weekly small group discussions, students learn how leaders implement their principles, and reflect on their own values and career aspirations.

This course focuses on the bioscience industry (biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, genomics, and vaccine). The emphasis is on the ethical and social challenges of running companies in these areas.

Richard Jefferson believes that biotechnology can be used to benefit the poor and disenfranchised, but only if the R&D process is democratized so that everyone has access to critical scientific tools and technologies.